There is nothing simple about Zack.  He was a complex child with many
issues no doubt.  His home life was a mystery to me, but he displayed no
obvious signs of problems there.  He seemed well taken care of in fact.
It was very difficult for me to see him each week.  It was painful for me.
The lack of eye contact, the lack of socialization, the phobic like fear
of touching things was all too familiar.  I don't know what Zacks dx are,
and I suspect neither do the doctors nor schools.  This was one of the
many children lost in the cracks of the system.  The umbrella term of
"developmental delay" was applied to him.  When I mentioned the autism
spectrum disorders to the staff at the school for them to consider for
him, I was met with surprise.  I in turn burned with anger that something
so obvious was not spotted nor addressed in the past, not to mention that
when I pointed out such a possibility I out was met with great skepticism.
But then what else is new?  I had been there myself not long ago with
Sean.
 
When I first saw Zack he rarely would eye me, when he did, his eyes had
that familiar unfocused look to them.  He spoke softly and rarely, and
when he did it was many times inappropriate.  When I first brought in the
ferrets, he was very hesitant, and stayed in the background of the room.
Then as visits went on, he did the opposite.  He would break from being
alone, to over excitement.  But as soon as my story and question/answer
time was done, and the ferrets came out, he would pull back.  He didn't
want them near him.  BUT he would yell for me to bring them over so he
that could "see them".  That was fine.  By the end of the year, I had my
husband hold a ferret, and I took his hand into my hand and we'd touch
a tail with a pointy finger.  We worked up all the way to petting the
ferret's back.  He would touch a tail unassisted as long as I kept the
head of the ferret facing away from him.  And that is how the entire year
progressed, slowly but surely.
 
The next year, I came into the school, and the new children were excited
and fearful at the same time.  When it was time to take a ferret around
to each child, I came to cute little Zack.  Well I was in for the shock of
a life time.  He abruptly reached out with both hands, , and grabbed my
ferret out of my arms.  I barely was able to help.  Thank gosh I had quick
reflexes, because after about 15 seconds he was quick to push the ferret
away.  But then he didn't want me to take the ferret away.  He wanted to
sit and look at it for a while.  Then he touched a tail.  I didn't even
know what to say.  I didn't want to stop him when he did what he did.
But I knew he was inexperienced, and I didn't know if he'd be gentle.
This was unknown territory for he and I both.  Well, that incident scored
huge points in the classroom, and it opened up all sorts of doors for
friendships and conversation for him.  I couldn't believe my ears, when
he kept trying to talk.  This was great.  The visit was helping him to
spontaneously initiate some speech.  He could not follow a conversation
well, nor close it.  But this was a great step for him.
 
This was one child that I feel that regular animal visits would be great
therapy for him if done correctly.  He had severe sensory integration
problems.  He had trouble with the touch of the ferret, with the ferret
looking at him, with the cold nose, with the smell, with the movement of
the ferret, everything.  It took two years, but by the end of the second
year, this child was adept at holding a ferret by himself.  He was fine
with the feeling of claws, with the wet nose, and with the smell.  This
does not mean it wasn't hard for him to endure these things each time he
held a ferret.  I'm saying he had learned to deal with them so that he was
not handicapped by it, and so that he could enjoy the ferret.  I enjoyed
seeing this child grow in many areas in his development.  The ferret
visits were just one extension of his growth.  When I last saw him, he
was in that familiar and difficult stage in his socialization.  He would
impulsively act out, make noise, get too close to someone and shout, or
hit, in attempts to play and socialize.  He didn't know appropriate ways
to relate to kids, but it was all coming along, and quite quickly.  It
depresses me to think that if he had accurate identification and dx (even
if I'm wrong about an autistic disorder, he needed more specific dx to
help him) that he could have been helped so much more.  He didn't need to
go through what he did or does.  If he had specific and aggressive help
early on, I think the picture would have been quite a different one.  But
he is one case where it strongly demonstrates that good teaching and
caring can help some no matter what.
 
When I think of Zack, I think of the perfect example of a child that
animal assistive therapy would help the most.  I think of a boy that came
so far -- came from miles away to me from the background of a class room
to an active participant.  I think of a brave boy that dealt with the
feeling of fur on his skin, and the strong musky smell of an animal to
enjoy life.  He's a little hero.
 
Wolfy
Please visit:
http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/
[Posted in FML issue 3701]